Reading, Writing, and Me

Two Can Keep a Secret  by Karen M. McManus (327 pages) Overview: Ellery and Ezra have moved to Echo Ridge right when the beloved science teacher is killed in a hit and run. They come across the body on their drive into town which sets the tone for their time in Echo Ridge. It seems that the killer of the homecoming queen from five years ago has returned with a slew of threats against the new court. And then, Brooke, one of the princesses, goes missing. Echo Ridge goes from a rich, suburban New England town to the sight of a possible serial killer, and true crime fanatic, Ellery, is going to solve it the mystery. Overall: 4 Characters: 4 Ellery and Ezra aren't super memorable. They're fine. Likable enough, but nothing stands out to make them special. Ezra is reduced to a minor, minor character, even though he's originally painted as important and Ellery is your classic new girl in town, true crime fanatic. I just can't find anything that stands out about her as muc

Our Year of Maybe  by Rachel Lynn Solomon (January 15) Overview: Sometimes growing up isn't about falling in love with your best friend; sometimes it's about falling out of love and into yourself. Peter has always been ill. His chronic kidney disease has kept him home from school, and his neighbor, Sophie, has always been his only friend and one of his few rays of sunshine. But then Sophie gives him the greatest gift- a chance at a regular life in the form of a kidney. Once the transplant is complete, Sophie is left in pain, but Peter is finally able to live his life. When Peter finds a band and a boyfriend, exploring his bisexuality for the first time, Sophie feels abandoned and, almost, bate and switched, as he thought contributing the kidney would bring them closer. They push and pull, getting closer to the relationship Sophie wants and then farther from even having a friendship. Overall: 4.5 Characters: 5 I loved Sophie and Peter. Sophie has always given into what Pet

Now that I've been keeping detailed stats and blogging for almost two years now, I decided I'd compare my stats from this year and last year to see how I'm growing and changing as a reader as well as a reviewer. Instead of making resolutions or setting a goal for a number of books to read for 2019, I'm just going to aim to keep improving and finding books that I honestly love. It's hard to hold yourself to a certain number when it's hard to predict how the future will go. 2017 Stats I like to pull many different data points from the books I read. From genre to how many days each book took to who wrote and published it, it's interesting to reflect back. Here's some of the facts I see as most relevant to reflecting how I'm changing as a reader. In 2017, I read 120 total books which seems to be at the top end of what I can manage to read in a year on top of school work and other things. Of these books, 65 of them came from my local library, eit